>> Tuesday, June 7, 2011

I'm trying to get back into the food-making groove. Baking, cooking, and being around "real" food in general. It's been a slow process, but last night -- I had this intense urge to bake. But not anything I'm usually interested in (chocolate and peanut butter).

As I wrote yesterday on the baby blog, I've been craving s'mores lately. Naturally, when I thought of something to bake, graham crackers came to mind. But I didn't want crackers. I wanted a softer, heartier snack. This recipe is an adaptation of this graham cracker recipe I tried a few months ago. In bar/brownie-ish form.

In a large bowl, whisk the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together. Use a food processor to pulse the (raw) rolled oats into a powder/flour. Then add them in as well. (Alternatively, you can put all dry ingredients into a food processor and pulse until smooth.)

Cut in the Earth Balance and mix with your fingers until it resembles a coarse meal. This may take several minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the almond milk, vanilla extract, and maple syrup. Add this mix to the large bowl and bring together with a spatula until just combined. Then turn over onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for one to two minutes.

Plop dough ball into baking pan and press until evenly distributed. Then bake for 15 to 20 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean (but middle should be somewhat sticky, not over-dry). Texture is in-between a cookie and a brownie. Delish!

Cool and then cut into bars. Top with slices nectarines and melted dark chocolate. Or whatever else you think goes well with grahams!